Gotham City Nights
by Jasmine Dragon Teashop
Summary: When two best friends-Seraphina and Penelope- move to Gotham City, their lives are turned upside down when they both fall for the mysterious John Bake. The girls lives become even crazier when they both gain supernatural abilities. Will the duo become a superhero pair the likes of which the world has never seen before, or will this story end in tragedy?
1. Prologue:The Blueprints

**Prologue: The Blueprints**

The Joker sat alone in one of his many experimental laboratories. He giggled like a maniac as he worked on his best experiment yet. It was still in the testing stages, of course but that's what human beings were for. Laughing to himself, he threw back his head and rubbed his hands together in glee.

"Oh, if only old Batsy could see me now!"

He was still laughing moments later when a masked figure burst through the window and body slammed him to the floor.

"Give it up, Joker. You can't hide from me long," the man known as Nightwing growled threateningly.

"Hahahahahahaha! You're not as clever as Batsy though, are you, Boy Wonder?"

Nightwing clenched his fingers and punched the crazed killer beneath him with a grim smile.

"I might not be as clever as the old man, but I punch just as hard."

Hauling him up by the collar, Nightwing brought their faces close together and narrowed his eyes into angry slits.

"Listen here, Joker. I might not be Batman, but he trusted me enough to protect this city and rid it of scum like you."

The Joker merely grinned and pressed a button he had hidden in his coat pocket. A trapdoor fell open beneath them, but the the Joker managed to grab onto the ledge while Nightwing fell into the depths below.

"Sayonara, Bird-Boy!" Laughing again like the psychopath he was, the Joker gathered up his materials and disappeared into the night.

Moments later, a grappling hook shot over the side of the ledge and Nightwing pulled himself up with ease.

"Dammit!" He swore angrily as he realized the Joker had escaped.

Frustrated and pissed, he kicked he table in front of him, blinking in surprise when something fell off it. Kneeling down and picking up what looked like a set of blueprints, Nightwing scanned over them quickly.

His eyes opened wide in horror as he realized what he was looking at.

More determined than ever to stop the Joker once and for all, he pocketed the prints and melted into the night, completely unaware of the events that were soon to be set in motion.

Meanwhile, halfway across the continental US, two young women were preparing to move from their luxurious apartment in Southern California to a mansion their Uncle had left them in Gotham City.

"God," said Seraphina (who was the younger of the two),"I can't believe I managed to fit all my stuff into three suitcases."

"Neither can I," Penelope commented dryly. She was the more practical of the two, and closed the trunk of her dependable Hummer before climbing in. She rolled down the window and raised an eyebrow at her best friend.

"You coming? Or are you gonna take Dean to the airport?"

Seraphina grinned at the mention of her motorcycle, which she loved more than her own life.

"Like I'm gonna leave Dean-o behind! Race you there?" She asked cockily, sweeping her black hair over one shoulder and climbing onto her sleek, deadly looking cycle.

Penelope smirked and slid her ray-bans down before revving the gas.

"Gotham City, hope you're ready. Cuz here we come!"


	2. Chapter One: A Fresh Start

Chapter One: A Fresh Start

Turning over a new leaf is never easy.

But when my best friend and cousin-by-marriage Penelope offered me a fresh start, and a way to escape my past, you better believe that I jumped on that faster than you can say _Rodeo!_

This is the way that I saw it: continue to be viewed as the black sheep/outcast of my family, or migrate to a city where I could start fresh because no one knew my name.

I think the choice was rather obvious. And I was happier than anything that the person I was doing this with was Penny. We'd been best friends ever since her parents had died and she had come to live with my family and our shared Uncle had died this summer, he'd left Penelope and I his huge mansion by the city.

You have no idea how excited I am to live with her, just the two of us. We're the kind of ridiculous best friend types that burst out laughing for no reason if we so much as look at each other.

After I beat Penelope to the airport (which, I so beat her; lying witch says she won by an inch...) we got on the eight hour flight to Gotham. We were relatively comfortable, considering we were on first class, but I happen to have a deathly fear of heights. Which means you have absolutely no idea how happy I was to be back on solid on solid ground when we landed.

We left the airport about thirty minutes ago, and are now standing on the huge, gorgeous lawn that contains the gate that allows entrance to Oak Manor. Penelope punches in the key code, and the gate creaks open. I wince at the scratchy, creaky sound it produces and we drive up to massive house that stands imposingly in front of us. I swing myself off my bike, pulling of my customized helmet and praying my hair doesn't resemble a bird's nest.

"Nice digs," I say with a wolf whistle and a shark-like grin.

Having been born with a silver (more like gold) spoon in my mouth, I was used to this sort of extravagance. Penelope was a bit starstruck though, as was obvious by the way her jaw was practically trailing on the floor.

"Yeah," she breathed, "Nice digs is an understatement."

I was about to reply when the huge doors opened and a distinguished looking man in his late 50's stepped out. He was dressed in an old fashioned butler uniform, complete with coat-tails and a bow tie.

"Hello, , and . My name is Geoffrey, and I am the prime caretaker of this fine establishment. Welcome, and do come in," He says smoothly.

I handed the glorified butler (because seriously? That's what he was) my helmet and stepped inside, whistling again as I took in the size of the place. You could probably fit two of my summer homes in this place, and that was impressive if you'd ever been to one of my summer houses.

I spun around in the foyer and grinned. "This is the perfect place to host my 20th birthday party!"

Penelope rolled her eyes at me as she stepped in, and smiled at a maid who dragged our suitcases in.

"You keep forgetting we don't even know anyone here yet. And I'm not sure this is the right kind of place for your kind of birthday party.."

I scowled. "What do you mean by that? I think it's perfect. You know, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You can hide out in your room and do...whatever it is that squares do!"

She laughed at the unintentional inside joke reference to one of our favorite movies and shook her head at me. Fauna, her cat, came into the kitchen and brushed against my leg. I picked her up and handed her to Penelope, rolling my eyes as she made kissy faces at her pet.

"It's just- can we please take things one at a time? First we have to finish moving in and finding jobs. Then, we can start any party planning."

I squealed and hugged her, then turned to our new butler with a prim smile.

"Geoffrey, you could please show the way to our rooms, if you don't mind?"

"Certainly, Miss Swan," he replied, gesturing toward the stairs and walking toward them.

I nodded and started to follow him, but hesitated when I noticed that Penelope was standing still in her spot. She waved for us to go on ahead and I nodded, beginning the long ascent up the double flight of stairs.

But it was worth it when I got up to my room. I had a full view of the gardens and the Gotham City skyline. A smile sprung on my lips as I gazed out from the balcony. The city truly was beautiful, and I couldn't wait to really explore it. I pressed my fingers against the railing, then walked back inside the room and flopped down on my california king bed. The jet lag began to sink in, and I fell asleep just like that, body curled around a pillow.

GCN-GCN-GCN-GCN

When I woke up the next morning, I did my daily stretches and yoga exercises before hopping into the shower. I got out and slipped into a vintage halter-top style dress that had a bold floral print. The pinks and blues went nicely with my warm, chocolate skin tone and dark hair. Pinning my hair up in a messy-yet-elegant bun, I went downstairs to see what I could rustle up for breakfast.

Penelope was awake already and sitting at the kitchen counter sipping on some tea. Her hair was down, and she was wearing juicy sweats and a raggedy old sweater. I smiled affectionately to myself. Typical Penelope, choosing comfort over fashion.

"Good Morning, Penny," I chirped happily, "What's on the breakfast menu today?"

She took another sip of her tea and shrugged before answering me.

"I have no idea? Carlita- one of the maids- said it was going to be a surprise. Like, something special to welcome us or something."

I raised an eyebrow but said nothing further. Sliding into the seat next to her, I poked her in the side and smiled mischievously as she wiggled in her seat.

"So...I was thinking that we could turn this whole downstairs area into a ballroom type thing, and have the serious partying take place upstairs-" I started before I was rather rudely cut off by my best friend.

"Sera, you know how much I _love_ parties," she started sarcastically,"But your birthday is going to be in a week and half. A huge house like this needs at least five days to decorate it, and we'd have to send out invites today! Exactly how many friends do you think you'll be able to make in 24 hours?"

I frowned at her. Christ Penny could be such a freaking killjoy sometimes...

"That's the thing about big cities, Penny my dear. You don't have to know anybody. You just put the word out and they'll flock to us like rabid vultures," I boasted.

We both took a second to imagine that sight and shuddered. Thankfully, that image was wiped from our minds by the arrival of our breakfast surprise. There were omelets, croissants, sausages, eclairs...

Basically, to food junkies such as us two, it was_ heaven._

We dug in heartily and thanked Geoffrey and little Carlita, who seemed embarrassed by the praise. I made a mental note to introduce myself to all the staff here later.

"Wanna hit Gotham to go shopping and exploring with me?" I asked Penny around a mouthful of sausage and egg.

She pointedly chewed her food and swallowed before she answered me and nodded.

"Sure, why not? I'm kind of eager to actually go out there and see what it has to offer."

Once we had finished our breakfast, Penny changed into an acid-washed denim shirt, dark jeans, and a cute pair of Vans. I changed into a sleeveless, barely-there mesh tank that had three arrows going across it pointing I pulled on my tight leather jeans, and finished off the look with knee-high, heeled boots with tassels. In short, we both looked damn sexy.

We climbed onto our respective rides-she, her hummer, and me, my faithful Dean- and drove the twenty minutes it took to get from Oak Manor to the inner city.

Gotham was beautiful, in it's own harsh way. It was all steel, and precision, yet there was something about it was that jagged and dark: something that spoke of smoke and mirrors. Cops were everywhere, and the tiniest trickle of fear ran down my spine.

I'd heard of Gotham's spectacularly high crime rate: who hadn't? I'd heard all about how crazies seemed to run rampant here, how people just threw on masks and murdered without guilt.

I'd also heard about the Batman. But one good person in a sea of crime didn't make that much of a difference.

Penny and I shopped around at Saks on Fifth, where we met Mason. He had noticed my 'I heart Long Beach' keychain and told us he was from California too. We made small talk for awhile, and found out that he was flamboyantly gay, and completely hilarious. We parted ways and exchanged numbers, promising to hang out with one another later.

Bags in one hand, and phone in the other, we walked the sidewalk and peered through windows, ooh and ahh-ing at things we liked.

"Hey, is that an Okyuky Tea Shop? I thought those only existed on the west coast," I squealed happily.

Penelope looked up, but she seemed a little worried. "Hey, you go on ahead, okay? I think I left my keys in Saks, so I'm gonna run back and get them. Wait for me?"

I nodded and walked in, sighing contentedly as all the scents of the different teas overwhelmed me. Okyuky is one of the best tea shop chains in the US. The inside is always the same, just decorated in a different color. There are a thousand paper cranes hanging from the ceiling in blue, and a lady in a kimono bows to me as I enter.I bow back and peruse the shelves for my favorite teas.

I don't buy much, just some chai and oolong for myself, and cinnamon for Penelope. Then I get in line for the register, smiling at all the familiar looking sights. Or rather, I was _about _to get in line for the register, until some cow hip-checked me and took my spot! I lost my balance and fell backward, knocking over a dozen boxes of tea.

God, how embarrassing! Seething with anger from my spot on the floor, I watched as the chick who knocked me over murmured a quick sorry and ran out the door with her bitch, you better run! Years of MMA and boxing would have enabled me to kick that chick's ass into next week, but I held back. I sigh, and start to gather up the boxes on the floor.

"Here, let me help you," a smooth voice said in my ear.

Suddenly, a pair of swift, skilled hands gathered up all the boxes and stacked them on the shelves with scary accuracy. Then one of those hands was curled around my own, pulling me to my feet.

"Thanks.." I started, trailing off as I looked up and took in the man standing before me.

_Damn_, was all my mind could come up with. He was young, and lean, but he had a sort of hardness around him. He was taller than I was, and had some nice muscle definition, along with a perfect jawline along with expressively handsome features. _Double Damn._

But hey, my nickname wasn't heartbreaker for nothin'.

"I'm Seraphina," I murmured with a bright smile.

"John," came his reply.

"You're a real gentleman, John," I said honestly. "Not many people in this city would have done the same."

He shrugged, but looked pleased by the compliment. "Yeah, well. Not everyone in Gotham is a douchebag, though they try pretty hard to seem that way."

I nodded, and tucked my hair behind my ear."Well, in any case, thanks again. Maybe...I'll see you around?"

His eyes roamed down my figure, and I thanked the Lord that my outfit was one of my sexier ones.

John's lips curled up into a crooked smile. "Yeah. Definitely."

He then took his bag and walked out the door, waving to me as he did so. Penelope rushed in the second he left, panting, but with her keys clutched triumphantly in her hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she told me.

I smiled secretly to myself and paid for our tea. I was _so_ coming back here everyday.

"Oh," I said dismissively, taking her hand and pulling her out the door, "It was really no problem at all."


	3. Chapter 2: Brainstorming

_Penelope's P.O.V._

When Seraphina and I had gone back to the mansion, I still couldn't get over the fact that I had moved into a mansion on the other side of the continent. I mean, did I have any family that I would miss? No, but I did have my ballet studio. There I had grown accustomed to every single person there and starting over was hard.

I knew Seraphina was happy about it and it definitely showed. Her past wasn't exactly spotless but that's how she deals with things. To be able to leave everything behind seemed like the perfect plan.

As I sighed, I kneeled down to pick up my lovely Fauna. She purred against my neck as I carried her over to my room on the top floor. I always liked the comfort of looking down on everything. It was comforting and not to mention the beautiful view of the city. We weren't exactly right next to it so we were able to see the beauty of the lights instead of all of the danger that seemed to nestle in Gotham.

Surrounded by a small field of grass, I noticed a garden in the back and knew I had to visit there some time to read a book and relax.

"Fauna, I think we are going to like it here," I said to my orange and black spotted Bengal as she snuggled against my shoulder.

"What did I tell you about talking to animals?" Seraphina interrupted, her eyebrow raised.

Although she was younger than me, she had the confidence of a super-model. Her looks would definitely be mistaken for one of a super model's but her heart was in MMA and boxing. Her build told anyone that also.

I gave her a sheepish smile. "Fauna talks to me too."

"Yeah, in your head," she added, crossing her arms. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied, looking away.

I heard her sigh as she took a few steps into my new room (my very own room that had its own bathroom!) and said, "I know moving isn't your thing but I promise you will like it here. When I have my party, you will have plenty of new friends—more so that you can handle."

Her smirk made me laugh as I nodded. "Okay, I believe you. I'm going to go for some coffee then look around to see if they have any ballet studios."

"Uhh, Penelope, this is Gotham. They probably have a store filled with ocelots on the street-corner. You will be able to find one easily," she stated with confidence.

"Okay, well I will be back in about an hour so," I said quickly, letting go of Fauna."

Just as I was about to leave, I pulled out a hair band and lifted my hair into a loose bun, letting strands of my dark hair fall out. Being sure to splash my probably pale face with water, I gazed into the mirror. When my naturally tanned face returned color, I smiled.

My dark brown eyes looked tired—probably from jet lag. I was most likely famished, I thought before I picked up my keys and jogged down the never-ending stairs. Or at least to me they were never-ending. It was probably easy for Seraphina to run down these stairs since she was also in track. I was more of a long-distance jogger than anything.

Taking my hummer, I drove the ten minutes or so to the city before parking in front of some arcade. Once I got out, I started to walk down the block with my eyes peeling for a coffee shop or ballet studio. When they finally came over a small café that didn't look too popular, I silently thanked the lord that it wouldn't take long.

When I went inside the store had a charm to it. It wasn't like Starbucks where everything was sleek and shiny. In here there was tea, different types of coffee that were in foreign languages and plenty of baking goods. What caught my attention was a small bookshelf where there books that you could buy or read while you sit.

Smiling at the home-feeling I was getting, I got behind someone that was ordering and waited until it was my turn while gazing at the ornate wallpaper.

"Welcome to Isabel's Café," a friendly woman in her 50's asked.

Giving her a shy smile, I looked up at the menu and ordered, "May I have the Cinnamon Chai tea?"

"What size would you like miss?"

"A medium will be fine," I answered, giving her a twenty dollar tip. I mean, I did have money to spend so why not start by helping this woman? She looked extremely tired but she still kept up the friendliest behavior she could muster.

Giving me an appreciative smile and mouthed a sincere 'thank you' before going over to start making the drink.

I looked over to see a help wanted and immediately knew I found a job that I actually wanted. Although we had inherited a lot of money, it wouldn't keep us going forever. I didn't need a really good paying job at the moment either so a part-time will do for now.

When she came back with the drink, I told her about how I recently moved here and am looking for a part-time job.

"I would love the help," she admitted, leaning against the stand since no one was in line.

"I can take any shift, the time doesn't matter," I added, taking a sip of the tea.

I almost moaned in appreciation because it tasted like heaven. Unlike most coffee shops, she took her time trying to make it the best she could and it definitely helped.

"This tastes amazing!"

"Thank you dear," the woman's who name was Maria said. "Do you think you can take a shift from 6 pm to 9 pm—closing time. That way I could be home with my grandchildren."

Smiling in adoration, I nodded and said, "I will start tomorrow!"

Maria gave me most thankful look that I have ever seen that melted my heart right away. "Okay, well you go relax and drink the rest of your tea. I've got the rest of this."

In reluctance, I went to go sit down in one of the comfy chairs. Looking at the selection of books, I inwardly smiled. There were plenty of Nicholas Sparks books. Picking out A Walk to Remember, I sat down in the chair to start reading.

"Nicholas Sparks?" a smooth, velvet voice asked.

I looked up in surprise to see the most beautiful man I have ever seen. He had dark hair that wasn't too long but styled perfectly so that it didn't go every where. His jawline was hard and defined and I couldn't help but want to listen to his beautiful voice as I stared deep into his dark eyes.

"Yeah, his books are my guilty pleasure," I admitted, trying not to gawk at this well-defined man. He wasn't extremely tall but he was at a good height. For me, I thought to myself.

He cocked an eyebrow as he said, "That was nice of you what you did back there."  
"What do you mean?"

"Helping that woman out, she looks so exhausted. Not to mention the tip you gave her," he answered, his eyes glazing over in sympathy.

Looking up at his expression, there was something that pulled me in. It was like he was a magnet and I knew I had to get close to him, maybe even fix him. It was obvious he had a shell around himself and I couldn't help but want to help.

Smiling slightly, I said, "It was no big deal. Everyone needs someone to pull their hopes up every now and then."

"Yeah," he agreed. "My name is John."

"Mine is Penelope," I replied whilst sticking my hand out for him to shake.

John gave me a half-smile as he grabbed a chair and sat across from me. He stared at me for a moment, making me blush slightly, and then said, "I usually walk around this block. I've never seen you here before."

"I just moved here, with my cousin," I explained. "Our uncle gave us his heir and now I guess I'm pretty rich but that doesn't mean I will change. Although my cousin can be a pain sometimes, I consider her as my sister. I am going to throw a birthday party for her but with everything going on its going to be hard."

"Well, what kind of stuff does she like?"

Smiling at the thought that he put into the question, I answered, "Well she's into boxing and mixed-martial arts. I was actually going to come out here to look for some around here. She can definitely kick some ass at that!"

He laughed as I got a little shy. Hell, who wouldn't be? This man was gorgeous and he had a really nice build. My eyes drifted to the table so it wouldn't seem like I'm staring at him. Closing the book, I settled it down and looked back up at him to see he was just looking at me.

My heart fluttered as I opened my mouth to say something like 'what are you looking at?' when he said, "You look like you do ballet."

Scrunching my brows together, I looked at him with a huge question mark on my face. "I do?"

He nodded, his voice almost a whisper. "You are really dainty but the way you hold yourself up…it's with elegance."

My breathing fastened lightly as I gulped rather loudly. The way he said elegance had made me want to swoon. Being the utter fool that I am, I stuttered, "I-I do happen to be in ballet."

John smirked at my reaction as I slightly narrowed my eyes at him. Clearing my throat, I tried to sound as normal as I could feign as I said, "I used to be in ballet before I moved. I grew really close to them actually, and I told my cousin that I would go out to look for a ballet studio. Since you already told me about the gym, I was thinking I could take her there sometime soon."

"I could show you right now, if you don't mind?" he said, glancing at the clock behind us.  
I didn't need to turn to the clock to know that it has been forty-five minutes since I got here. "I wouldn't mind. But I can't stay out for too long or else my cousin is going to call the cops," I teased.

Immediately his eyes were covered by a mask as he stiffened and said, "Nothing will happen, I promise you that."

Confused as to why he changed all of a sudden, we remained silent as we walked down the busy street. I looked up to see the sun was getting ready to set as it was only 5 in the afternoon. Everyone was out and about today, scattering here and there trying to get any errands out of the way. There were homeless people left and right and I saw some of them try to get my attention.

Trash filled the alleyways as people that had no homes hid behind them, trying to stay out of peoples way. My eyes watered at what they saw.

Gotham definitely had a dark beauty.

Fear shuddered through me as I thought I heard someone scream. Biting my lip to stop the paranoia that was starting to build in me, I walked a little closer to John, who's gaze seemed to soften.

"You will get used to it," he murmured, walking a little closer to me.

Nodding, I kept my eyes down as we walked for a bit longer when we finally came to stop. I looked up to see there were two stores—one was a gym and the other a ballet studio. I almost squealed with excitement as I jumped up and down at the amazing sight. Maybe I was going to be just fine here—well, other than the fact there are more bad people than good here.

Paying attention to the street names, I took a mental note to tell Seraphina about these places. Without thinking about anyone paying attention, I did a mini-happy dance that seemed similar to the Chandler dance from Friends.

I heard John chuckle which made me stop and blush in turn.

He smirked. "Nice dance."

Lifting my chin, I defended myself, "Unless you watch Friends then you can't say anything."

"Well, I did anyway," he added, before I frowned at him.

Noticing the time, I muttered under my breath as I said, "I need to go. It was nice meeting you John."

He frowned at me this time before he took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. Handing it to me, his fingers lightly brushed mine. "Here is my number. Call me if you need anything."

Nodding, I was about to turn around and before I called back after me, "Don't be a stranger. You're invited to this party with my cousin!"

He merely chuckled in response as I jogged down the block back to my large silver Hummer. Before I could reach it, I ran straight into someone which caused me to fall down on impact. I looked up into a pair of brown eyes that sparkled with humor.

"Mason!" I exclaimed, cringing at the kink in my neck.

Mason looked at me weirdly as he held out his hand for me to get up. "Just 'cus I'm gay doesn't mean you have to beat me up!" he joked, smacking my arm slightly.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I was just about to go home. Since I ran into you then I guess I can say that you are invited to Seraphina's party."

"Oh! A party!" he gay-ishly exclaimed.

"Yep, although I am not sure how to exactly get everything ready," I admitted, giving him a small grin.

Mason rolled his eyes at me as he winked and said, "I gotcha babe."

"You mean you will help me?" I literally screamed.

Nodding, he grabbed my hand and scribbled his number on it. "I've got contact with almost everyone in town honey. Now you leave me to it and I will keep you posted."

"Oh my god, thanks so much!" I blabbered. "Do you want me to pay you?"

Mason looked at me with the weirdest and craziest expression ever. He raised both of his eyebrows at me as he leaned back in surprise. "Babe, I'm as rich as a dolphin."

"That…doesn't make any sense," I told him, confused.

Rolling his eyes again, he muttered, "No one understands me."

Smacking his arm, I said, "Well if you don't want any money then so be it. I need to get back to the mansion before Seraphina calls the cops on me."

"Okay well, just keep in touch and tell that black Barbie that we are going to meet up for some of the dete's. I even have some connections to singers or bands. Got me?"

The use of his flamboyant vocabulary had my mind spinning in confusion as I just laughed and scrambled into my car totally unladylike. The ride back home was faster than I expected and once I got to the huge gate, I still breathed in awe at my new home.  
I drove down the gravel path and into the large garage where Dean was hoisted up too.

I didn't even know I had a silly huge grin on my face until I looked into the rear view mirror. My cheeks were flushed and I could feel my blood pumping with adrenaline.  
Hopping out of the car, I ran up the steps to the door and opened it. Realizing that I had no idea where I was at, I decided to make a left and trying to see if I can find the loft.  
When I finally found a familiar hallway, I followed it until I found a staircase that led up to my room. Frowning, I was wondering what I could do to find Seraphina and tell her about the news when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

Seraphina's voice came through. "Where are you?"

"I'm in my room but I don't know where to go to find you," I admitted while letting out a brief chuckle.

I could literally hear the eye-roll through the phone as Seraphina muttered, "You're a dumbass. I am in the kitchen like this morning. Carlita made some mean ravioli!"

"Yumm, I could go for some ravioli right now!" I exclaimed, hanging up and jogging towards the kitchen.

By the time I made it down to the kitchen, Seraphina had her face in a plate of ravioli and Carlita gave me a small shy smile. "Here is your plate of ravioli, Penelope," Carlita said with a small voice as she handed me the plate of delicious looking Italian food.

"Thank you Carlita."

Still smiling from earlier, I ate the Italian dish with a moan of approval. I don't think I could ever look at take-out the same ever again. Carlita's cooking was better than any other type of cooking that I can remember and by the huge smile on her face, I knew she was happy with my response.

"So what's with the happy face?" Seraphina asked her voice filled curiosity.

Should I tell her? I mean, I tell her everything but for some reason I wanted to keep John to myself—at least for now that is. Maybe at her party I could introduce them but for now, I get to have a secret to myself.

"Oh nothing, just had a fun time. I ran into Mason today, he volunteered to be the party planner. Turns out he has contacts to almost everyone in this town and he will make this party crazy," I stated, a smile still plastered on my face.

"Well won't you like that," Seraphina mocked in a fake southern bell accent.

Glaring at her, I shoved her lightly. "Shut up, this is all for you and I hope you know that."

"Of course! I have the best cousin in the world!" she exclaimed in fake excitement whilst shoving me off my chair.

"Sera, I swear one day just wait," I warned, getting back on my chair warily.

She looked at me as she came back with, "I waited one day for your mom!"

"Wow, how smart," I stated sarcastically.

"Whatever, let's get ready to plan this party!" she exclaimed.


	4. Chapter 3: Party of The Century

_Seraphina's POV_****

It's been a week since we started planning my 20th birthday bash, and now my moment has finally, _finally_ arrived. The downstairs of Jules Manor has been completely transformed into a cross between a Paris Masquerade Ball, and Mardi Gras wonderland. There are silver and gold mask decorations everywhere, but we incorporated the more festive Mardi Gras colors and beads into the decor as well. In order to enter the ballroom, you had to be wearing either your own mask, or one of the ones that were being passed out by Geoffrey and Carlita.

As for my outfit, well, let's just say there would be no duplicates. I was dressed in a floor length, shimmering royal blue gown that clung to my every curve and showed a daring bit of cleavage. The train slowly melted into peacock feathers that flared out and trailed behind me on the ground. My mask was a little more detailed. The part of the mask that covered my eyes was the body of the peacock, and the head curled around under one of my eyes. The tail flared out on my right side, feathers resting softly against my cheek.

The dress and mask were Carlita originals. I had found out that the girl had a simply _ah-mazing_ talent for making clothes.

I accessorized with blue elbow-length gloves and two turquoise drop earrings. I looked into my full length mirror and twirled, feeling like an exotic Paris courtesan.

"You look gorgeous, Sera!" Came Penny's excited squeal from behind me. I turned to look at her and my jaw almost dropped.

"Who are you and what have you done with my cousin?" I ask, only half joking.

Penny is a natural beauty queen. At 5 foot 4, with exotic latina features and a flawless complexion, she's also petite and curvy. The guys would be all over her if she cared a little more about fashion and actually put effort in her appearance. Unfortunately for them, she picks comfort over fashion everyday.

But obviously not tonight.

She's wearing another Carlita original (which reminds me- that girl deserves a raise), which is a deep scarlet red dress that ends just below her knees and shows off her petite and curvy figure. Her mask is red as well, with orange and yellow flames all around it. She's accessorized with a rose in her hair and sexy Louboutin pumps.

"Shut up," she says with a eyeroll, "Carlita made me dress up like this."

I merely smile. Somehow, I doubt either one of us is going to live this party without being hit on.

She smirks and grabs me by the elbow, practically dragging me down the stairs.

"Come on, we have to go and greet the guests!" Penny says excitedly.

We finish going down the stairs and wait at the door for people to show up. Mason arrives first (though fashionably late, of course) and I hug him tightly as he hands me a huge bag that we put in a corner. I fight the urge to giggle when I see the huge entourage he's brung with him: comprised entirely of young, gay males. They all kiss my cheek and hand me present bags while complimenting the decor.

I spend maybe an hour and a half greeting guests before I decided, hey, it's my party and I feel like dancing.

I float out onto the dance floor, holding myself high like a queen. Immediately, I'm approached by several guys who want to dance, which is a major ego boost. I smile and place my hand in one of them, choosing randomly. We spin and twirl around the ballroom, laughing as we go. Just as the first song finishes and we prepare to dance another, there's a light tap on my shoulder and a deep voice in my ear.

"May I cut in?"

I turn around to see who's speaking, coming face to face with a man in a tailored Armani suit, who's phantom of the opera mask can't hide how darkly handsome he is. I can sense something inherently dangerous about him, and it intrigues me. Just who is this guy, and how did he get in? I daintily place my hand in his, and gasp when he pulls our bodies flush together.

Nearly blushing, I try to pull away and he merely chuckles, holding me close. We dance a slow waltz, and I let him lead me, which I _never_ do. I like to be in control all the time, but right now, even I can hear how fast my pulse is racing.

"I'm Tyler Ross," he says as he twirls me out of his arms, "Happy Birthday, Seraphina."

And the moment before I'm supposed to spin back into his arms, I turn around and he's gone. I shiver, but smile, delighted at the prospect of finding out more about the mysterious Tyler Ross. Just as I'm contemplating following him to wherever he's disappeared to, Mason climbs onto a table and starts tapping on a microphone in order to get everybody's attention.

"Hello~Party People! We have a veeeery special surprise for you all! Our darling Seraphina's favorite band, The Killers, is outside on the lawn to play a private concert for the birthday girl and all of her guests," he sing-songs.

OH. MY. _GOD._

I'm not sure if I just heard him right. The Killers?! At my party?! Oh my God. I'm freaking out as I run upstairs while all the people empty the house. I had this fantasy where when I met Brandon Flowers and he noticed my Hot Fuss shirt and started a conversation and this is SO NOT GOING AS PLANNED.

I don't even noticed Penny has followed me upstairs as I ransack my closet looking for my Hot Fuss t-shirt and cutest jeans.

"What are you doing up here? Aren't you excited to finally meet Brandon Flowers?" She says with a grin.

I'm hyperventilating as I continue my frantic search and turn around to glare at her.

"What am I doing? What are YOU doing? How the hell could you have forgotten to mention that The _freaking_ Killers were coming to my party? How hard would it have been to say something?" I shout.

"Chill out schizo! I didn't know you were going to flip out over your outfit," she snaps.

I sneer at her and pull off my dress and mask. I can hear the strains of 'All These Things That I've Done' from outside, and tug on my Hot Fuss t-shirt and some tight jeans.

Penny taps her foot impatiently and I flip her off. We're walking out of my closet when I hear the noise.

It's a faint ticking sound that's coming from downstairs...that and what sounds distinctly to me to be maniacal laughter.

Since both of us had lived with a Marine for an extended period of time, we knew instantly something was off. Stealth was imperative if we were going to be able to find out exactly what was going on. The second before I was about to swing myself down and off the balcony, I heard the detonation. I tackled Penny to protect her from the blast and we fell to the floor as the vibrations rocked the manor. I could feel the shockwaves burst under my skin, felt my eardrums pop, and then I passed out and knew no more.

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The soft whirr of the machine beside me woke me up. I blinked the grogginess away and sat up, wincing as the harsh light assaulted my eyes.

"Wh-...what," I murmured as I took in my surroundings and deduced that I was currently inside a hospital room.

Mason was sitting on a chair across the room reading, and sat up when he heard my voice, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Hey boo! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried when I heard that explosion...who knew that psychopath was gonna get out," he said.

"Was anyone else hurt? And what psychopath?" I demanded. I was eager to know who put me in the hospital so I could return the favor, and clenched my fists.

"The Joker escaped from some whackhouse they put him in and set off some smoke bomb thing. It knocked you out and put a huge hole in your ballroom, but you don't have any serious injuries, honey. The doctors said you could leave when you woke up," Mason explained soothingly.

I frowned, but decided I would ask more questions later. Right now, there was only one thing on my mind.

"Is Penny okay?" I whispered as I bit my lip.

"Yeah, sweetie, she's fine. She's in the other room. B-T-dubs, there's a flock of paparazzi out there who are eager to get pictures of the heiress whose mansion got bombed by the Joker on her birthday. That would be you, mama," he added in unnecessarily.

"Christ. I just wanna get out of here and find the fucker who dared crashed my party. But first, take me to Penny," I said, rubbing my eyes and groaning softly.

Mason helped me up and lead me to Penny's room next door. She was sitting up in bed watching the news and biting her lip nervously. She sighed in relief and teared up when I limped in.

"Jesus, Sera! Don't scare me like that," she whimpered.

I gave her a weak smile.

"I scared your mom like that," I joked, and she laughed, putting a hand over her mouth before running over to hug me tightly.

"Think there'll be a taxi out there somewhere?" I asked Mason once we broke apart.

He nodded and showed us the back way out of the hospital. We snuck out, into the alley behind it and waited until we thought the coast was clear. I wrinkled my nose at how damp and dirty this part of Gotham was, sending a silent prayer of thanks that I wasn't wearing Carlita's dress; I would have hated to ruin it.

"Why don't we just walk home," Penny says quietly, "It's not far and I feel like the fresh air will do us good."

I shrugged, and we started to walk toward the manor. I shivered softly as a cool breeze kissed my skin, raising goosebumps. Every shadow seemed to come to life, every streetlamp was a demon, and I knew we were both seriously reconsidering this decision. But we continued to push forward, until we came to a fork in the road.

"Let's just take this shortcut," I said, nudging her into the alley that was next to the path on the right. Penny hesitated, but followed me in. We walked quietly and stealthily, and I breathed a sigh of relief as Jules Manor loomed in front of us. My relief was short lived, however, as my instinct barely kicked in and gave me enough agility to dodge the bat that had just been swung at my head.

Oh, _hell_ no.

I crack my knuckles and smile grimly as three thugs melt out of the shadows. They each are wearing ski masks, and carrying a weapon of some sort: a tire iron, a metal bat, and some short of shank to be exact.

_This is gonna be fun_, I think dryly as they back us into a corner.

"Sera! What do we do?" Penny hisses in my ear.

She did MMA for a bit, but not as long as I have. Fighting is in my blood, but if push comes to shove, I'm sure she can handle her own. I just wink at her and motion for her to follow my lead. All my exhaustion drains away, and I can feel something buzzing beneath my skin-almost like an electric current.

Ugly, Fugly, and Tubby advance on us, grinning maliciously.

"Now, now ladies. We don't wants to hurt ya," Fugly starts out.

He doesn't get a chance to finish because I drop to the floor and bring my legs up to my chest before slamming my feet upwards his jaw. Before he has a chance to topple to the ground, I move llightning-quick and deliver a punishing roundhouse kick to the side of his skull, sending him spinning around and falling to the floor with an audible crack. I leap back onto my feet and adopt my signature stance, palms out and legs apart, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Well that's too bad," I say sweetly as Penelope comes to stand next to me. "Because I sure as hell want to hurt you."

Ugly and Tubby get over their momentary shock and roar, coming at us swinging. I catch the tire iron in my hand and slam my foot into Ugly's chest, knocking him to the floor. Penelope dodges Tubby's swing of his knife with a amazing flexibility that comes from being a dancer. She's doing a great job so far, but he's back her into a wall and the knife is heading toward her stomach.

"Shit! Penny, watch out!" I scream, and that's when the impossible happens.

She literally twists her body like a fucking pretzel, joints stretching like they're made of rubber. My jaw drops, and Ugly takes me by surprise, wrapping his hairy arm around my throat and choking me. I thrash in his grasp, and the only thing running through my mind is to escape.

The next moment, I'm literally slithering out of his grasp. Slithering, because _I've turned into a freaking snake._

I don't have time to process this before I change back, gasping. My fight instincts kick in again, and I disarm Ugly easily, knocking him out with a one-inch punch to his ugly mug. Penelope has herself wrapped around Tubby like a fucking anaconda, body stretched into maybe seven loops around him. It's kinda gross at first, but when I think about it, seriously freaking cool. When she unloops herself, he passes out in the alley and I aim a deadly kick to his ribs, smirking in satisfaction when I hear a crack.

"He had it coming," I say defensively when Penny gives me a look.

She chews on her lip, and for a moment we just stare at each other.

"So," we both say at the same time, and burst out laughing. Nothing about this situation is really funny, but laughter is one the human race's best coping mechanisms. Penelope and I sit there on the cold dirty sidewalk and laugh our asses off, hooting until tears come out of our eyes.

"Christ," I choke out, "I think that pain medication the hospital gave us was a little outdated."

"Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's not like I turned into Elastigirl overnight. And it's not like you can shapeshift or whatever," she snickered.

"That would be impossible, right?" I say, and she nods eagerly. I'm glad she thinks so too. Having just been discharged from the hospital, I wasn't particularly keen to return for mental stability tests.

"Actually, that's where you're wrong," came the sound of a grave voice from the shadows.

Penelope and I stiffened in shock and turned to see a man dressed in a tight black kevlar suit with a light blue stripe that crossed the width of his lean chest and continued onto his arms.

"And who the hell are you? Because if you saw that ass-whooping, I'm pretty sure you know you don't want to mess with us," I snarled.

He sighed, and glanced around, then pulled off the mask that covered half his face before stepping into the light.

I'm pretty sure my jaw not only dropped, but became permanently unhinged, and I heard Penny gasp in shock behind me.

"_John_?" We said at the same time, before turning to look at each other in surprise.

"Guess we all have a bit of explaining to do," said my tea shop hottie with a grim smile.

_GCN-GCN-GCN-GCN_

We sat in John's luxurious condo and sipped on chai tea, waiting for him to make sure the area was secure. I cleared my throat and looked at my best friend with a frown. We usually told each other everything, and the only reason I kept tea shop hottie to myself was because I didn't really even know the guy. But from the way those two had been looking at each other, I knew something was up.

"So," I said, uncaring if I sounded hostile. "Wanna tell me how you know John?"

Penelope winced at my tone, and shrugged. "We met at that little cafe I told you about. We've only met once, I swear!"

I softened a little bit at that. "Yeah, well. I bumped into him at Oyuky."

She nods, and we don't say anything for a moment.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," we both blurt out and give each other shy smiles. The balance is restored and the tension between us is resolved.

At least, until John appears in the room again.

"There's a lot you two need to know, and I promise I will get to it all in due time," He said quietly.

"But for now, I'm going to ask you to trust me. Seeing as your house is now a crime scene, I'd feel much better if you two stayed here...with me."

I frown. I want to object, because honestly? Taking advice from a guy who dresses up in skin-tight armor and puts on a mask to battle bad guys doesn't rank high on my list of priorities.

Before I can say anything, he continues talking. "What you two did against those three thugs...that was amazing. I've honestly never seen anything like it. Seraphina, your technique and application are flawless, and Penelope, what you lack in skill you make up for with ingenuity."

Penelope flushes at the praise, but I am not so easily won and cross my arms, motioning for him to continue.

"A couple weeks ago, I infiltrated one of The Joker's top secret research facilities, and I found this."

He pauses and pulls out a pair of blueprints. I reach for them, being the science whiz in the family, and my eyes widen in horror as I go over them.

"Oh my God," I whisper.

Because what I was staring at was the blueprints for a Molecular Modifying device, which, if used correctly, could cause someone to say..._be able to shift their molecular structure into that of a snake._ It could also change someone into Elastigirl overnight.

"He would have had to set up an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to shift the molecules out of place..." I say, thinking out loud. "There's no way he could have known how it would have affected a certain persons molecules though."

"Exactly," John says with a nod. "He was planning to use you and all your party guests as test subjects. Fortunately for the others, they were outside on the lawn when the blast occurred."

I shake my head grimly. "The man is a genius...but this is_ insane_. Who knows what the long term side effects of this could be?"

He shrugs, and sits next to Penelope, who looks about as confused as I feel.

"Why us?" I ask softly. "Why target us?"

John shakes his head. "I have no idea. The Joker is a sociopath, and he never has a reason for what he does."

"You sound like you know him well," Penny pipes in curiously.

John gives her a small smile. "You guys know who the Batman is right?"

He doesn't wait for an answer. "Well, Batman was sort of...my mentor, if you will. He protected Gotham from the likes of the Joker and psychopaths like Bane. When he died, I took on his mantle as protector of Gotham. I keep these streets clean as well as I can, but it's a bit much for one man to handle..."

He leans back wearily, but the tension drains out of his body when Penny lays a hand on his shoulder. I watch their interactions with a mix of curiosity and slight jealousy, wanting that type of closeness for myself. I shake myself out of it and wait for him to continue.

"Which is where you two come in," he says quietly. "I saw what you two did, and I think we would make a great team. I'd have to train you of course, and we'd have to come up with alter egos for each of you...but it's possible. What do you think?"

Penelope opens her mouth to agree most likely, but I beat her to the punch.

"What do I think? _WHAT DO I THINK_?" I shout, enraged. "You wanna know what I think?! I think it's my 20th_ freaking_ birthday, and I all I wanted was to have a nice party and make some new friends. Instead, some psychopath decided to go and change my freaking molecular structure _without my permission_. Then I ended up being assaulted by three thugs who smelled like onions! Now, I come here, and I have to listen to some prat whine on and on about protecting Gotham. Well you know what? SCREW GOTHAM. There's **nothing** here worth protecting! Dressing up in spandex and putting on a mask makes you just as much a _FREAK_ as the rest of the people in this city!"

I'm panting and tearing up as I storm from the living room, locking myself in one of the several guest rooms. I honestly cannot deal with this all tonight, and the fact that John and Penny are in there, likely pitying me just makes it worse. I punch the wall, and my fist turns into solid steel. I stare down at it as it turns back into skin and sink to my knees with a groan.

I put my head in my hands and sob, because if anything, _I'm_ the freak here.

And that knowledge hurts more than anything.


	5. Chapter 4: News Report

Penelope's P.O.V.

"Umm," I nervously added. "I am sorry about that."

John just chuckled and shook his head. "No, it's all good. She's going through some rough patches and it must be difficult with this huge pile of stress on her shoulders."

Nodding, I couldn't help but feel guilty. Usually we told each other everything but when it was Seraphina who felt hurt or stressed, she put it out through anger and isolation. I knew she wouldn't feel angry or hurt by this for long but I understood she needed time for herself.

Sure, I was confused and totally weird-ed out by this whole ordeal but I didn't think of her or myself any different. The only thing that I couldn't wrap my head around was the fact that I could literally stretch further than I knew that was possible.  
Jeesh, this was making my head hurt.

Clearing out any thoughts, I looked up into John's eyes and started to think about what was happening right this moment.

"I don't think we should talk about this any further until Seraphina feels ready to talk to us. It doesn't feel right," I stated boldly, making sure he knew how much I actually cared about my cousin and her feelings.

This was now about the both of us and anything we do inflicts the other.

John quirked an eyebrow as he said, "I respect your opinion. Do you think you should maybe talk to her or something? Like give her ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" I giggled at the thought of Seraphina and I sitting down watching chick flicks eating ice cream to help her feel better. As much as that would help me, her way of comfort was totally different. Roller skating seemed like a better option.

He narrowed his eyes instead and muttered, "It was just an option. Girls tend to like that kind of stuff."

"Well Seraphina is far from that. Last time I tried to comfort her with ice cream while she was mad she threw it at my face," I responded honestly.

In reply, he snickered rather rudely at me. "That would definitely be a sight I would like to see."

Gasping, I placed a hand over my heart and scolded, "I didn't see you as that type of guy John."

Rolling his eyes, he stretched his back as his expression once again turned serious.

"Penelope, I hope you know that we don't have that much time."

Blowing out a breath of exasperation, I gave him my best annoyed look. "John, I know this. One night isn't going to hurt anyone and rushing things when someone can't think clearly is so not going to work."

"I understand," he muttered, rubbing his neck as he looked at me with a frown on his beautiful face.

Stop it, I thought to myself bitterly. My world wouldn't be as simple as I thought it would be now that all of this was involved.

Suddenly, I yawned and realized it was almost 1 in the morning. Why would they even think about taking us out so late? Oh yeah, we couldn't stand the smell of medicine. Seriously, did they have to make it seem like some prison that made you want to go mental? That was one reason I hated waiting in the waiting room of any building that had to do with medicine. It always makes my head hurt.

Speaking of headaches, I'm pretty sure I had one right now.

"If I had known that you would be staying the night here when I was looking for a nice place to live," John said, interrupting my thoughts, "then I would have chosen a larger condo. Seeing as there are only two official rooms here, you could sleep in my room and I will take the couch."

"No, that's not fair," I responded quickly, frowning.

John gave me a look of impatience. "You're tired and you have had a long day—which by the way is obvious with the amount of times you have rubbed your eyes. Go get some rest, I need to check the area to make sure no one followed you here."

"But-,"

He scowled, "No buts."

With that, he walked out of the condo and into the shadows.

Groaning, I slumped over into his room and found it surprisingly clean. Like any other room the bed made out of black sheets was a king size but other than that, the room was empty besides a side table and closet.

I was just about to look over what he had in his room that might entertain me since it took me a while to go to sleep—considerably a book—when I suddenly dismissed the thought. I would most likely find nothing in here and it would be weird to invade his privacy so I just walked over to the bed and sat down.

"How will I be able to sleep in this room," I muttered as I was clouded with the scent of John.

Actually, it was easier than I thought. Rustling and turning, I finally got comfortable on my back and stared up at the ceiling. Thinking about all what happened today made my head hurt more than I could handle. So, as fate would have it, I fell asleep safe and sound in John Blake's bed.

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When I woke up, I was greeted with a sense of wonder and confusion. The first question that should have came to mind was 'where the hell was I?' but I couldn't help but let it go when I was smothered by the black sheets that had a warm, cinnamon smell to it.  
Turning around, the sun hit my face and I instantly felt like I was full of peace and energized. I suddenly didn't want to sleep anymore. Part of that reason is that I felt as if I could do a full on handspring and front flip in the same second. Then, when my mind cleared on the situation at hand, I sat up in the bed and glanced around the room.  
I was slapped in the face when reality sunk in. I was no longer stressing over how much I will miss my old ballet studio because now it was a whole new situation. I could stretch further than any human could and it was probably the weirdest thing that I could ever explain. Not only could I stretch but Seraphina could change into different forms.  
Seraphina!

Jumping out of the bed, I quickly ran a hand through my hair and jogged out of the room. When I finally found my way to the kitchen, I saw John drinking a cup of orange juice and sweating profusely. His attire consisted of a grey sweatshirt and black sweatpants. If I hadn't been behind one of the walls then I'm pretty sure that I would have been extremely embarrassed if he had caught me gawking at him.

"You know, I wasn't trained for nothing," John's voice came out which caused me to jump in turn.

Blushing slightly, I changed the subject. "Where is Seraphina?"

"I haven't seen her at all," he said, his expression turning grim.

I winced and whispered, "Still that bad, huh?"

By the time he nodded, I was already up and asking where her room was. When he gave me the verbal directions, all I could think about was how she was feeling. While I got a good night full of sleep she was in her room probably regretting everything since the move.

Standing just outside her door, I thought about what I should say to calm her down. Instantly though, I gave up and just opened the door without any warning.

"Hey," I whispered, looking at Seraphina who was currently staring at her arm intensely.  
She glanced up at me with a blank expression and I could literally feel the tension in the air. I thought it was sickening and heavy but I knew I had to solve this. The blank expression on her face told me that she was hurt and I couldn't help but want to smash my face against the wall.

"Look, I feel really bad about what happened last night," I added after watching her stare at her arm again.

Seraphina gave me a shrug as she gave me a half-smile. "I overreacted, no big deal."

"No big deal?" I echoed.

She grinned. "Yup, like it was no big deal that I banged your mom last night."  
Feeling the tension leave the air, I laughed a she gave me her signature smirk. It turned into a half smile when she admitted, "I was just being extremely jealous and freaked about last night. C'mon, I was turned into a freaking slithering snake as I watched you wrap around some guy like Elastigirl! Give me some credit; one person could only take so much."

"True, I guess you just needed…," I trailed off as my gaze fixed on a hole in the wall.  
"Sera!" I whined, remembering this isn't our house.

She shrugged as she said, "It's not like we don't have money to pay to fix it."

Rolling my eyes, I stated, "Still, it isn't our property."

"Well, are you two done loving it up today? I don't feel like puking," Seraphina grumbled, after dropping her arm and fixing her gaze on something else behind me.  
I heard John's voice behind me as he chuckled and said, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about Seraphina. And why don't you girls come out and eat some breakfast?"

"I would love some breakfast right now," Sera groaned in delight.

My head turned as I asked, "You cooked?"

"Well you probably would have noticed if you weren't standing there gawking at my awesome physique," he teased, waggling his eyebrows.

"Woah Penelope, how could you be so open about it? I thought I taught you well!" Seraphina gasped, looking at me with teasing shock.

I shook my head as I denied both of them, "I was not, I was just wondering why you were so sweaty."

John just tsked at me and I couldn't help but smile just a little.

When we finally went into the kitchen after a few minutes of bickering, Seraphina and I served ourselves a plate of eggs and waffles before we sat down and ate as much as we could before we sat back and tried to relax.

"You know, for a white boy you can cook," Seraphina said, sighing in content.  
John quirked an eyebrow. "Ofcourse, how else would I live?"

"Take out," we both said at the same time, giving each other a half-smile. Jeesh, we were scary alike sometimes.

He just shook his head and immediately turned serious again. "We need to talk about this fighting crime unit that I had proposed to you girls last night."

That made both of us instantly quiet. Sure, we had these awesome powers that we would probably have to talk about sometime soon but that didn't mean we wanted to. Think about it, it's a normal day at a party and you are having fun. To be knocked out by some weird bomb that changed one's molecules wasn't an ordinary thing—especially when you wake up in a hospital room.

Thinking that everything is going to be okay, you then walk home with your best friend only to be attacked by some hobo thugs. That is when instinct kicks in and you do something drastic like stretch like a rubber band. Then your best friend changes into a snake—which you are absolutely scared of!

I was surprised I didn't have a breakdown—well, only because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of John.

"I am not sure how to talk about this," Seraphina hesitated.

"Well, I am letting you think about this so don't feel rushed or anything. The more help the better but I still think you guys should join me. It isn't every day that I find two girls that have the ability to beat up three huge guys without even losing breath," he admitted, giving us an unsure stare.

My hard expression wavered. It was definitely hard to take care of Gotham all on your own when there are evil people everywhere. Not only was he alone, he had nothing to help him but money and training to fight when Seraphina and I have an advantage.

"We need to come up with alter egos," I decided, daring my eyes not to look over at Seraphina's shocked expression.

What surprised me though was when she backed me up by saying, "I agree. It's hard to take care of a city all by yourself; plus, we have an advantage."

Pulling my thoughts into words, I gave her a thankful smile as John beamed at both of us. "I honestly thought I would have to convince you two."

"We know an implication when we see one," Sera stated, giving him her famous smirk.  
Rolling my eyes, I continued, "We need alter egos. John already has one, but Seraphina and I need one—to protect our identities."

"Why not just show our faces? I don't think its cool to hide behind a mask when we give others justice, that's just dumb. We would be recognized by the community and everything," Seraphina asked, giving me 'the look'.

John spoke up for me. "If any villains know who we are then that means they have connections to those we love such as family and friends. Not only that, but it makes you vulnerable because someone could easily look up your address and find you."  
She seemed to think about it for a second before she agreed. "So I have to be nicer and less upfront?"

John nodded. "And Penelope needs to be a little more like you—confident and upfront about things. It would give false conceptions over who you actually are. With my alter ego I am more hidden, careful, and just a tad mean."

"Actually, that makes a lot of sense. I just couldn't describe it like that," I said, smiling sheepishly.

He just winked at me as he continued, "The first time I fought someone was when the Batman was still alive. I had to fight to live and I saved a lot of people. Ever since the Batman had given me his heir I knew it was upon me to keep the city clean of any scumbags or psychopaths like the Joker, or Bane. When I fought for the first time after Bane left, the man I was fighting said that I looked like a bird of the night. That was when I decided to call myself Nightwing."

We both just stared at him in awe as he told us the story of how he came to be. John was definitely something else, that was for sure. The implication in his words made it obvious that he wanted us to come up with a name for our alter ego. Beside me, Sera nudged me as she gave me an excited grin.

"What if I could be called the Illusionista?" she asked, her eyes brightening at the name.

I thought about it and couldn't help but think about how the name was perfect for her. She loved fashion which therefore made her a fashionista. With her new power, it may look like an illusion when we knew it wasn't.

John and I nodded with a grin on our faces. I said, "That's perfect for you!"

"What about you Penelope?" John asked, turning to me.

Pursing my lips, I couldn't help but frown. I had no idea what I should call myself. I mean, the infamous Elastigirl would make sense if it hadn't come from a kids movie.

Hm, I thought to myself. I should really think about this.

I merely shrugged as I muttered, "I have no idea."

"That's okay," Sera added. "We will find out eventually."

Maybe, but it depends how far we are going into this crime unit. While John and Seraphina were chatting away about something like Martial Arts, I couldn't help but feel like I was being stabbed in the gut. Something was going to go wrong, and it was going to happen soon.

Sighing, I glanced around and found a window. The room was really dim and I felt that I needed to lighten it up so I gaited towards the curtain-closed window. Opening the curtains, I felt the sun rays hit my face instantly and my whole body came alive.  
Closing my eyes, I leaned against the glass and let the inviting light caress my face with the softest touch. The sun light felt like it was a physical object as I absorbed it into me. All the stress that I felt washed away as I felt like I was being renewed.

All of the good memories that I remembered came to mind at that instant. I felt drawn back into another time as I was back into my little 5 year olds body. My long dark hair was pulled back into a neat bun on the top of my head. I felt like a princess when my ballet teacher had placed a mini tiara on my head.

"Remember what mom said Penelope?" she asked, her Spanish accent leaving her voice as she gave me a soft look of encouragement.

With the small lisp that I had, I nodded. "Mommy said to smile and think of her every time I play."

She hugged me gently as she whispered, "You've got this Penelope. Don't worry about who is here just remember what your mother told you."

I smiled as I hugged her tightly then let go as I patted down my white tutu and straightened my white leotard. On the shoulders of the sleeves, a couple of swirls were patterned with small rhinestones that stretched across my side and disappeared under the tutu. Instead of the usual white tutu that I was supposed to wear, my teacher opted for a neutral skin tone colored tights. To top it all off, I had used my mothers' white ballet shoes that had her initials bedazzled on the side of my foot.

Standing backstage, I heard the rustle of other girls my age whispering and the excited motion of the teachers getting everything ready. On a speaker coming from outside of the curtains, a voice announced, "Welcome parents, family, and friends to this annual show of our beloved students. Each year we train and have them train until we agree that they are ready to perform the biggest performance of their lives at this age. We now present to you The Nutcracker."

All of us were already in our stances, ready to perform when the music started with the chirping of birds and crickets chirping. Standing the left line of ballerinas, I was standing on end-point with my hands stretched outwards to the left and my eyes closed as if I was sleeping while standing.

Then, the music started and the center consisted of three taller ballerinas that stood on end-point as they gracefully walked towards the center of the stage and sat down with their legs stretched out beside them. In the middle there was a small flower as the right line of ballerinas leaped to the front of the stage.

It was our cue to glide across the stage and leap over the small fake flowers on the stage. Basically, that is how the rest of the performance went. I felt feather-like and elegant as I performed my moves. Out of the eighteen girls in my class, I was one of the three girls that had a solo tonight. Each of us wore a tiara. One was in the center of the right line, one was in the center and I was in the center of the left line.

Each of us stayed in the center of some sort but when it was my turn for the solo, I felt my heart pounding in my chest. My parents didn't usually come to these kinds of things but when I saw the head of curly black hair waving at me with the widest smile I had ever seen, I got so excited that I found a new purpose to my solo.

Calming down, I twirled and sashayed across the stage as the ballerinas around me formed a semi-circle. Smiling like never before, I leaped into the air as I spun around elegantly. My heart was put into it as I performed for everyone to see.

My solo was the last before the performance was over as everyone around me froze. I looked up and smiled before I blasted into a bazillion little bits of sunlight and returned to my older, twenty-one-year old self and smiled against the window.  
I could literally feel my body fill with energy as I gasped in surprise.

What just happened?

Shaking off the jittery feeling that went throughout my body, I decided to leave the windows open and left back to the kitchen where John and Seraphina were in deep conversation. Once I stepped into the room the talking immediately stopped which made me glare in suspicion.

"What's with the suspicious behavior?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"We were just talking," Seraphina said, giving me a smirk.

Again I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help but feel like I was glowing. It was definitely the best experience I ever had. Something was wrong about it though because it didn't fee natural. I've never stood in sunlight and felt like I was going to faint from happiness and delight before. Although I didn't want to admit it, the Joker changed me in many ways that I wasn't sure if I was ready for it or not.

Sensing a difference in me, Seraphina raised her eyebrows. "It looks like you just went to heaven then came back to get something you left behind. What's making you glow so much?"

Shrugging, I avoided her question as I quickly asked, "So what are we doing about this crime unit? I know we need alter egos but our costume?"

"Carlita can design our costume! I saw her drawing the other day and she told me she used to design the costume for her high school's plays. The girl's got some good talent," Sera said excitedly, her dark eyes gleaming.

John grinned. "I had mine made privately by a tailor. I bet you guys could think of something."

"My colors are purple and black!" Seraphina called.

Thinking about what just happened, I voiced, "I want mine to be a soft white and extremely light blue—almost transparent."

"And your masks?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Thinking about it, I realized I wanted a mask kind of like Hillary Duff in A Cinderella Story—except mine would be tied back with blue string and the mask itself would be a light blue. Already imagining what I wanted, I smiled excitedly. "I want a small mask that covers the area around my eyes instead of a full on mask."

"And you Sera?"

She frowned. "I'm going to sleep on it. But when we tell Carlita our ideas, it will come to life perfectly."

He nodded in agreement. Pulling out what looked like a sketchpad, he grabbed the pencil that was left randomly on the table. John wrote a couple of words down then slid it to us as we both looked at the small piece of paper in worry.

"Look this up," he stated, pointing to the title he wrote down.

_The Gotham Homicide 2013_

Sera and I both furrowed our eyebrows in confusion. Homicide? I've never really heard about a homicide anytime soon. Man, Sera and I really need to watch the news more often. I tore the piece of paper out and shoved it in my pocket as John stood up from the table. We both followed him as he turned the tv on and changed the channel to a news report.

A woman with cropped brown hair looked into the camera with her black eyes as she stood in front of a very familiar manor. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw Sera's and I home behind her—as well as Geoffrey talking to one of the officers in the background.

Caution tape was all over the place as the crime scene unfolded a broken door and ruined wall. Construction workers were fixing it as the blue and red hue of the police cars flickered every now and then. Although it was still day time, there seemed to be a dark settlement over the foundation. Everyone looked happy yet confused as to what was happening.

"The infamous Joker has striked yet again here in Gotham City. New citizens Seraphina Swan and Penelope Jules moved into this city just last week into this beautiful mansion named Jules Manor. For Ms. Swan's 20th birthday party, Penelope had assigned Mason Adams as the party planner. The least one could say was that it was probably the party of the century. Up until the arrival of Ms. Swan's favorite band—The Killers—everything had went smoothly while everyone was moved to the lawn for the private concert. Penelope and Seraphina were both left in the house when the Joker planted the unrecognizable bomb.

"Scientists are testing the substances that were left on the walls while checking out the fuse of the bomb. In a day or two we should be clued in as to what the bomb actually contained. By what we are hearing so far, it is apparently something we have never seen before. Included with the bomb that injured citizens Ms. Jules and Ms. Swan crime investigators have found a note left behind.

_"A new moon each month,_  
_Different colored leaves as the season changes, _  
_As the old leave, the new return as a cycle,_  
_Evil and Good—natural born enemies,_  
_Another start to a round that is about to come,_  
_Planted by the seeker of change_  
_For he is done and goes away as the new season comes._

This mysterious riddle was left behind by the mysterious Joker. His intentions are bad as you can tell through the riddle but as crime investigators look into this poem, there is something hidden behind the words that they have yet to interpret. Most would agree the Joker was a psychopath but was he really? Did he ever not have a plan when it came to destroying this civilized city? We will tell you more after this break."

Seraphina and I stared at the screen in shock as John had to rewind the show back to the note. After it was shown to us, he paused the recording and copied down each line word for word. When he was done, he turned to us as we both started to come back to life.

"Oh my god, that evil sick man," Sera hissed, clenching her fists as her cheeks became abnormally red.

Widening my eyes, I brought her attention to me. "Woah calm down Sera. You're getting too worked up over nothing."

"Nothing?" she gritted her teeth. "He ruined my birthday to start some war between Good and Evil so he can lay back and watch it all in amusement!"

John admitted sadly, "He is a man of very futile actions yet no one knows his intentions. He may sound like some crazy guy that wears make up everywhere, but he is underestimated way too much. By the way you are talking Seraphina, I am guessing you know the meaning?"

I looked at her and notice her fists still clenched but she seemed to cool down significantly. Nodding, she explained, "The poem is saying that every new moon, a cycle starts and is repeated. This means there is a new beginning—kind of like the seasons. It's all in a cycle when Evil—people or creatures with bad intentions—try to overthrow the Good—otherwise known as the people or creatures with good intentions. When the Joker retired—as he refers to himself as the seeker of change—he leaves to watch the new beginning he caused himself. Since he is getting too old to do this himself, he leaves it to the hands of people that would either choose to use the powers for good or bad.

"Since we are the only two with the powers then there isn't much of a chance there will be any bad people with these unnatural powers because of the hole in his plan. Although he wouldn't be the one to start the war himself, he did have some knowledge when it came to Good and Evil. They will always be at battle and although he tried to quicken the process, eventually there will be villains facing us in the near future."

"You are one smart woman," I muttered, scolding myself mentally for thinking it meant something along the lines of a deadline and bad babies being born.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not that hard to interpret when we were given the clue 'hidden behind the words' as the so-called reporter says."

John huffed at her cockiness when he turned to me. "We need to do something about this you guys. There is something wrong with all of this and it just isn't adding up."  
When he said that, a feeling in the deep part of my stomach clenched at the thought. Something told me the same thing but I had thought I was just being crazy about the whole thing. I gave a low sigh and instantly wished I could just be back in my mansion and sleep all of my problems away.

"You're right," I sighed. "As tiring as this is, we need to take action fast and be extremely cautious."

"Shall we go call Carlita about the designs?" Seraphina asked in a posh accent.

Using the same tone, I answered, "We shall!"

With that, we both laughed as John joined in with a small chuckle. Looking between the three of us, I knew that our trust and friendship for each other would be unbreakable. John gave me a wink as he saw me staring at our small crime unit. Just in case this was the last time I would be able to truly laugh, I let it envelope me as we laughed like there was no tomorrow.

-  
**Author's Note: There's some important info that should be known about this fic.**

**1. It's a collab story. My friend writes the Penelope chapters, I write the Seraphina ones.**

**2. This story takes place after the end of The Dark Knight Rises. John Blake goes on to become Nightwing, The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum, and Batman and Catwoman live out their lives happily in France, though they might make an appearance in here. Maybe. ;)**

**3. This is primarily a mystery/action story, but there will be a lot of romance and a couple new characters introduced! Just so you know what to expect.**

**4. We would really, really appreciate it if you left constructive crticism or gave suggestions and stuff. We love interacting with our readers!**

**Thanks for reading this! 3**


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